£401m rail revolution

RAIL in the North of England and Midlands will be “faster, greener and more reliable” with a £401million boost.

Some £317million will be invested in the Transpennine Route Upgrade to improve “punctuality, reliability and connectivity” betweenYork, Leeds and Manchester, said the Department ofTransport.

A further £69million will help increase freight capacity between Southampton and the Midlands and £15million is for new stations at Marsh Barton in Exeter andWhite Rose and Thorpe Park in Leeds.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “Modernising is critical to levelling up.”